Kingdom of God
1 Corinthians 15:24-28
Paul · ~55 AD · Status: Future · Confidence: 60% · Payne §I Cor 20–21
“Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.”
King James Version · the opening — all 5 verses are below
Christ's mediatorial kingdom delivered to the Father after all enemies are subdued, the final act of eschatological history.
Read the whole passage — all 5 verses (KJV)
15:24Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
15:25For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
15:26The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
15:27For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
15:28And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
Fulfillment References
Psalm 110:1 1 Corinthians 15:28 Revelation 20:14
How Traditions Read This Prophecy
Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalAt the end the Son delivers up the kingdom 'to God, even the Father,' and the Son Himself is 'subject' — that God may be 'all in all.' This is not one divine person submitting to another, but the completion of the mediatorial work of the incarnate Son: the Man Christ Jesus, having subdued every enemy, hands the redeemed kingdom back so the one God reigns directly and fully — all in all. The economy of redemption finished, God's unmediated reign appears, and that God is the Lord Jesus.
JewishThe hope of God subduing all enemies and reigning supreme; Psalm 110:1 ('foes thy footstool') underlies it, read of God's universal kingship.
CatholicChrist's mediatorial reign culminating in the handing of the kingdom to the Father, that 'God may be all in all' — the consummation (cf. the Catechism).
ProtestantChrist reigns until every enemy is subdued, then delivers the kingdom to the Father; the Son's 'subjection' is much discussed (functional/economic, not inferiority of nature).
AcademicA key and debated text on Christ's subjection; whether v. 28 is economic, functional, or ontological has been argued since the patristic era.
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